Douglas and I took a road trip to Philadelphia this past weekend to visit his family. We rolled into town Friday afternoon and went to the Museum of Art. They were celebrating Japan night with live music, cocktails and snacks. We wandered amongst the French Impressionists. We feasted our eyes on Van Gogh's Sunflowers, Degas's pastels paintings of ballerinas and various Picasso's.
(photo: This beautiful dress was decorated with moss and sedums.)We found a quiet cute little sushi restaurant. Instead of sitting at a table or the bar- we opted to sit in one of the booths where you take your shoes off and sit on the floor on a tatami mat. We had a delicious assortment of sushi, tempura spider roll, and instead of California roll- we asked for a chef's choice-- he made an eel roll wrapped in avocado slices with a sweet sauce, sprinkled with salmon roe and little greens that melted in my mouth! We shared a bottle of cold sake, and for dessert, tempura green tea ice cream -- SO delicious! We had the cutest waitress on the planet!
Saturday was devoted to the Italian themed flower show. We saw all kinds of crazy garden displays. Unfortunately, they weren't the kind that you could walk into on little paths (to keep people moving) as though they are little escapes into mini Utopian gardens. My favorite garden was a Tuscan vegetable and herb garden that had a distinct do-it-yourself feel....it was tucked behind tall cone shaped cypress bushes, nestled in between flowering shrubs and low growing plants.
(Photo: Another amazing dress constructed from various dried straw and stick materials)The highlight was the fashion/Milan section where designers created shoes, handbags and dresses out of all sorts of floral materials. There were some very beautiful accouterments.
Then came the individual plant prize winners, amazing for the sheer variety of plants, colors, textures, shapes and sizes. I have no idea what the criteria are for judging and how they chose 1st, 2nd or 3rd place but it's just really neat to see all the different types of plants and flowers that grow and how they take on funny persona's according to their looks.
Me, Douglas, Bruce and Martina having another impeccable meal- this time Thai. Too many delicious dishes to list and describe here-- it was all so delicious!!
